In many areas, standard construction techniques include forming a structure's foundation directly on the underlying ground. The ground is leveled, framework is erected at edges of the foundation, and concrete is poured onto the ground within the framework. This is commonly referred to as a “slab-on-grade” foundation.
One challenge of “slab-on-grade” and similar foundations is that services, such as electric, telephone, cable, water, sewer and natural gas, must be routed before laying the foundation. Referring to FIG. 1, to aid in routing, and to protect and insulate the services from the ground, subcontractors responsible for the various services typically lay out conduit 210 (e.g., polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe) with a vertical extension 212 where the services are to penetrate the slab. The slab 214 is then poured over the conduit 210, with the vertical extensions 212 extending above the slab 214 for ready access by the subcontractors, who can then further extend the conduit 210 to a desired location within the structure as construction proceeds.
However, construction sites are busy places, with the subcontractors often rushing to meet deadlines, and heavy equipment and vehicles frequently passing over the slab. As a result, referring to FIG. 2, damaging or breaking of the vertical extension 212 is common occurrence. If a break 216 or other damaged point is too close to the slab 214, the subcontractor is left with insufficient conduit to add a further extension.
To remedy this situation, referring to FIG. 3, the subcontractor must remove concrete from the slab 214 in an area 220 surrounding the vertical extension 212 to expose more of the vertical extension 212. Referring to FIG. 4, the subcontractor can then cut the vertical extension 212 level and install a coupling 222 to permit the addition of a further extension 224. A filler 230 is typically employed to fill-in the area 220.
While the foregoing is an effective repair, it is relatively time-consuming to chip away concrete from the slab 214 to expose the necessary length of the vertical extension 212, as well as to add the necessary filler 230. On even a relatively-modest residential construction project, a given subcontractor may be responsible for a dozen or more vertical extensions; on a large-scale commercial or industrial project, there can be hundreds of vertical extensions. Since it is commonplace for at least some of the vertical extensions to be damaged, the requisite repair can consume a significant amount of time and effort.